


Whisper

by Jordypye



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-01-21 03:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 8,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1535285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jordypye/pseuds/Jordypye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>Don't turn away.<br/>Don't try to hide.<br/>Don't close your eyes.<br/>Don't turn out the light.</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Set Up

**Author's Note:**

> Title and Summary credited to: Whisper by Evanescence

Honey had been acting suspicious for a while now and Mori was beginning to get worried over the childish boy. What could he be doing? He’s never acted like this before, had he been too hard on Honey and upset him? Surely not, Honey would have made it clear if he was upset with the tall stoic young man.

Mori found himself watching Honey take off immediately after classes had finished, Mori tried to inform the young boy not to forget they had the Host Club lunch to attend too but the smaller boy was already out of sight.

Having enough of Honey’s mysterious disappearances Mori ventured off to follow the childish boy, keeping him in sight but making sure Honey wouldn’t see him if he looked back.

Honey went down the flight of stairs and toward the double doors that lead out into the courtyard where he stopped suddenly then spotted something or someone and giggled, running over and flinging his arms around someone.

Mori slowly approached to get a better view before his brown eyes widened in surprise at what he was seeing. Honey was hugging a girl, she was taller than Honey but still short compared to Mori himself. She had dark hair that fell gently around her beautiful, soft face, framing it nicely.

Mori gasped in surprise, had Honey found a girlfriend?

Mori’s heart raced and he wondered if soon enough Honey wouldn’t bother hanging out with him at all. The thought made Mori’s heart hurt, he cared so much for the childish boy, he knew one day he’d have to learn to share his affections when the time was right but he hadn’t realized it would be so soon.

The tall male hadn’t realized he had been approaching them when Honey glanced up and spotted Mori, Honey’s eyes brightened at the sight of Mori and the boy waved his friend over while keeping a hold of the girl’s hand.

Mori slowly neared them but couldn’t bring himself to look at neither Honey nor the girl.

“Takashi, join me and Kiyomi-chan for lunch!” The small boy exclaimed, before pointing to the nicely packed bento boxes sitting beside the girl called Kiyomi.

“I-I’d hate to interrupt.” The tall boy stated, quietly.

“You aren’t interrupting Takashi! In fact your timing is perfect, right Kiyomi-chan?” The small boy confirmed, giving the girl his best puppy dog eyes and the girl blushed, turning away but nodding her head.

“See, Takashi!” Honey cried, after jumping up and running over to Mori, he tugged the tan boy over to sit beside the girl before grinning widely.

“Let’s have lunch now, oh, I’ll be back! I have to go use the rest room!” Mori opened his mouth to protest but Kiyomi had beaten it to him as she stood up from beside the seated male.

“H-Honey!” She exclaimed, her face was bright red but the young boy waves her worry away.

“I’ll be back in a jiffy Kiyomi-chan, don’t worry Takashi won’t bite!” He reassured her, a wicked grin present on his face before turning and running off.

Both Mori and Kiyomi watched his retreating form but only one knew the childish boy's real intentions.


	2. Confusion

The silence was long and drawn out, Mori didn’t know what to say to Kiyomi, sure he recognized her as they had some classes together but she never really talked, and if she did her voice would always be but a whisper.

Kiyomi was quiet, much like Mori himself but always in a different way. While Mori was a quiet observer, Mori had noted that Kiyomi had more of a quiet shyness about her, a shyness that she could overcome once she was familiar with her surrounds and the people she was with.

The silence was long and drawn out, Mori didn’t know what to say to Kiyomi, sure he recognized her as they had some classes together but she never really talked, and if she did her voice would always be but a whisper.

Kiyomi was quiet, much like Mori himself but always in a different way. While Mori was a quiet observer, Mori had noted that Kiyomi had more of a quiet shyness about her, a shyness that she could overcome once she was familiar with her surrounds and the people she was with.

At least that was what Mori had noticed when he had approached the couple.

The couple.

That’s right, how could Mori have forgotten that he had walked in on Honey and Kiyomi spending time together. He pondered if the small boy wanted him to get to know Kiyomi so that he could give his approval to Honey and decided that that was probably it.

He turned to the girl and watched her carefully; taking in her actions as she got out the bento’s and organized them. He also noticed that she had some sweets as well, everything looked homemade, so she had a nurturing complex to her. That was good, with the way Honey was he did need to be with someone caring and thoughtful.

Kiyomi glanced up to see Mori staring at her and her cheeks become tinted in a blush; she becomes flustered and avoids eye contact with the taller male. Mori racked his brains for something suitable to say and settled with asking a question.

“How did you meet Mitsukuni?” He asked in his gruff voice, she hadn’t expected him to speak and jumped slightly at his voice; she took her time to answer his question.

“Honey and I have gym class together, one day he fell over while we were running the track and he started crying, I got worried and asked if he was okay. He showed me the scrape he’d gotten on his knee and I put a plaster on it, after he had stopped crying we talked and everything after that kind of just fell into place.” She recalled fondly, even giving a small smile at the thought.

Mori contemplated what he should reply with but only managed a nod. So she could also handle a crying Honey well then, which was good but he couldn’t help but to feel a little bitter, it was his job to take care of Honey and now he had Kiyomi, she could give him that type of love plus more, he was no match for her and he knew it.

Mori was about to get up and walk off when he heard a giggle before a flash of blond appears in front of him, jumping up and wrapping his arms around Kiyomi.

“So, what do you think Takashi?!” Honey asked excitedly. “Don’t you agree that Kiyomi-chan is the perfect mummy for me?” The small boy beamed.

For a few seconds Mori could only sit and stare at the childish boy, he blinked several times before opening his mouth to reply.

“…Huh?” was all he could managed to say.


	3. Nice Save!

A wild giggle escaped Honey and he stared at the tall male before him.

“Kiyomi-chan is my mummy and Takashi you’re my daddy, so now all you have to do is get tog-” A red faced Kiyomi had quickly stopped the boy by covering his mouth and whispering into his ear, softly growling him off.

Mori covered his face with his hand, embarrassed both because he had jumped to the conclusion that Kiyomi was Honey’s new girlfriend and that he had realized what Honey had been implying all along.

He couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief however to know that Kiyomi wasn’t going to be stealing Honey from him like he originally thought. He now felt bad for feeling bitter toward the beautiful girl.

“Mori-kun.” Kiyomi’s soft call pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at the petite girl. She held out some onigiri for him to take. He reached up and carefully took one, noting that Honey was already munching away, looking content and for once, quiet.

He took a bite and savoured the flavour, amazed at how good they tasted. Kiyomi was a really good cook, he hadn’t realized he’d finished the first one until Kiyomi was holding out the onigiri and he took another one, thanking her softly.

“Woah, clam down Takashi, don’t go eating them all!” Honey whined, staring at his friend with a pout.

Kiyomi let out a giggle, startling both boys as they turned to face her. Mori felt his face heat up as he watched Kiyomi smile.

“It’s okay Honey, I made plenty of food, so you both can have as much as you want.” She stated, grinning softly.

The three of them continued to eat as Mori thought about how he’d unintentionally skipped the Host Club lunch that Tamaki had decided to throw, he glanced over to Honey and Kiyomi, they were gushing over baby animals. He let a smile grace his lips, this was a nice change of scene, he concluded.

Mori didn’t feel as uptight as he sometimes felt when he was being a host, though he loved being one; especially since it made Honey happy, he sometimes felt suffocated by all the fawning girls that they had to look after. It felt nice to relax for once.

Before Mori knew it lunch was over and he was helping Kiyomi pack away her empty bentos. “Thank you for the meal, it was good.” He said, avoiding her eyes out of embarrassment.

“I-it’s nothing, really.” She replied gently.

She stood up and was about to pick her bag up when a ball collided with her chest and she stumbled, the back of her legs hit the fountain and she goes tumbling backward falling directly into the fountain.

Mori watched, caught off guard for a second before his reflexes kicked in and he reached out quickly, grabbing her wrists and tugging her back so that she fell into him instead. He turned around and shot a glare at the two guys responsible for hitting Kiyomi and they immediately squealed an apology before running away, their tails between their legs.

“Are you alright, Kiyomi?” Mori asked, looking down at her as she clutched onto his jacket.

“I-I’m fine, thank you,” she mumbled, trying to laugh it off, “I just got a bit of a fright.” She admitted before realizing how close she was to him and blushing she pulled away, straightening herself up and smiling.

“Nice save Takashi!” Honey stated, giggling from where he’d been watch, he approached them and took Kiyomi’s hand, “We better hurry, we’re going to be late for class!” He sent a wave to Mori and before the tall male could comprehend what was happening Honey had pulled Kiyomi away, leaving Mori to watch their disappearing forms in bemusement.


	4. Where's Kiyomi?

Mori let out a sigh of relief as the last of the hosts female clients were ushered out by Tamaki. Today had been busy for the club and Mori hadn’t been able to have a breather up until this point.

Mori’s focus turned from himself to an unusually quiet Honey and the tall boy raised an inquisitive eyebrow, wondering why Honey’s spirit seemed to be so down. He was about to ask the smaller boy when he remembered that Honey hadn’t gone to hang out with Kiyomi at all over the past few days, in fact, Mori himself hadn’t seen Kiyomi around the school.

“Mitsukuni, have you and Kiyomi had a falling out?” Mori asked, maybe a bit to bluntly.

For a few moments Mori watched the confliction cross Honey’s face before he finally replied “No,” with a mutter, “Takashi, Kiyomi-chan hasn’t been at school lately, she told me she sometimes takes a few days off of school to help her father with their business…” Honey let his voice trail off.

Mori furrowed his eyebrows, sometimes it was common for students from Ouran High School to take some time off of school to help their family business and get hands on experience.

“There’s nothing unusual about that, Mitsukuni.” Mori stated, patting Honey gently on the head.

“But, I overheard Kyoya telling Tamaki that Kiyomi-chan’s father has requested another doctor because Kiyomi-chan is really ill again,” Honey paused, tears pricked his eyes as his lips wobbled, “Takashi, why would Kiyomi-chan lie and not tell me she’s unwell?”

Mori processed Honey’s question carefully before answering the question, “Kiyomi wouldn’t have wanted you to worry so much over her,” he replied matter-of-factly, he could relate to Kiyomi because if he had been unwell he wouldn’t have wanted Honey to worry so much over him.

“But Kyoya made it clear that Kiyomi-chan gets sick a lot,” Honey wailed, upset at what he had heard.

If Mori was honest, it didn’t surprise him that Kiyomi got sick often, she was petite and she even looked fragile, a slight change in the wind might be enough to lift her off her feet and sweep her away.

Mori tried his best to calm the childish boy down, rubbing his back and telling him that Kiyomi would be fine, that she would be back on her feet in no time; he just had to have a little more faith in her. Mori’s whispers went unheard as Honey continued to cry over his friend and eventually Mori realized there was only one thing that would calm him down.

“Kiyomi hasn’t been to school in three days, let’s go visit her, we can give her the notes she’s missed in class as well.” Mori stated, watching Honey warily as the lolita boy stopped crying and let a grin surface to his face.

“That’s a great idea Takashi!” He exclaimed, giving Mori a tight hug as he wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s neck, nuzzling into him and giggling, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go visit Kiyomi-chan!”

Mori stood up, Honey on his shoulders as Mori picked up his and Honey’s school, leaving the music room and heading out of the school grounds, with Honey steering Mori in the right direction they made their way to Kiyomi’s house.


	5. Unexpected Visit

Kiyomi’s house was nothing short of extravagant; Mori and Honey were lead into one of the lounges by a polite maid.

“I’ll go and let Miss Kiyomi know she has visitors,” the maid curtsied before pivoting on her feet and leaving the room.

Mori took the opportunity to take a seat on a near-by couch while Honey ran around pointing to different ornaments, showing them off to Usa-chan, Honey’s pink stuffed bunny toy.

The tall male made sure to keep a wary eye on Honey, sometimes he’d get overexcited and end up breaking something. Mori hated the thought of giving Kiyomi a surprise visit just to have Honey break something valuable.

“Miss Kiyomi is ready to see you, please follow me,” the maid was back, breaking the silence that had consumed the room as Mori got up and followed the maid with Honey close beside him, holding his hand as they made their way up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. The stopped shortly after and the maid opened a door, stepping aside to let Mori and Honey past before closing the door closely behind her.

There sat Kiyomi, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she was sitting up but still tucked into her bed. Mori took a moment to stare at her, her bed seemed far too disproportionate compared to her, it was large and spacious, and she was like a doll, if he touched her, would she shatter into a million pieces?

“Kiyomi-chan I was so worried!” Honey cried, bringing Mori out of his thoughts as the boy darts forward, running over to the flushed girl and climbing up onto her bed, moving so he could cuddle with her.

“I’m sorry Honey, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about me.” She sighed softly, letting him snuggle close to her.

“How are you feeling?” Mori asked quietly, approaching the bed and standing to the side.

“I’m much better, really.” Kiyomi stated gently, smiling.

“Does that mean you’ll be coming back to school soon?” Honey asked, staring up at Kiyomi, he was curled up close to her on the bed with his head in her lap. Mori took a set at the edge of her bed; he turned his head to face them both.

“We’re sorry for the unexpected visit, Mitsukuni had found out through Kyoya that you were unwell and was really upset,” Mori informed.

“T-that’s okay, it was a nice surprise,” She murmurs, running her fingers through Honey’s golden locks.

“We also bought you notes from the classes you’ve missed while you’ve been unwell, Kiyomi-chan.” Honey said sweetly.

Her eyes widened before a smile graced her lips “That was kind of you both,” She replied.

“I didn’t do anything, it was all Takashi,” Honey stated matter-of-factly, giving Mori a wicked grin while Kiyomi wasn’t looking. Mori blushed lightly and turned his head away muttering under his breath at Honey’s sneakiness.

“Then, thank you, Mori-kun.” Kiyomi responded softly, Mori nodded his head in reply, stopping down to unzip his school bag before searching through it until he found what he was searching for. His notebook, he handed it to Kiyomi and she took it carefully into her hands.

“I won’t need it for a while, so you can keep it until you’ve caught up.” Mori found himself saying.

Although the visit didn’t last much longer Mori was glad he had suggested it, Honey was much happier, Kiyomi had enjoyed the visit and even Mori himself found a smile surfacing to his face.


	6. A Winter Morning

Winter had set in which meant students were bundling up as they got dropped off to school. Mori, himself had wrapped a baby blue coloured scarf around his neck as he ventured out into the early crisp of the morning.

He had left early so that he could take his time walking to school, he didn’t feel like rushing this morning and the quiet was a nice change to his usually hectic life. He stopped to check for cars before crossing the road and continuing his trip.

When Mori turned a corner he spotted someone wearing the Ouran elite private academy uniform and his eyebrow rose in curiosity, sure he was walking to school but that’s because he liked exercising. He wondered why they were walking when all the other students were chauffeured to school, was it a new student like Haruhi?

Mori continued to ponder on who could be walking to school, he couldn’t really see the person from the angle he was at but he could tell by the long hair and the school dress that it was a female, he watched her slow down to a stop and stoop down to tie her shoe. He moved slightly to overtake her when he got a better look at her and his breath caught in his throat.

Kiyomi?

He stopped next to her and she tilted her head up, her cheeks were red and for a second he worried that she would get sick again. He noted she wasn’t wearing a scarf nor did she have any gloves on.

“G-good-morning, Mori-kun,” Kiyomi greeted, smiling softly as she straightened up and readjusted her school bag on her shoulder.

“Morning,” Mori replied, he assessed her closely, before speaking up, “why aren’t you wearing warmer clothing?” He asked, refusing to move until she’d answered him.

Kiyomi’s face flushed and she muttered quietly, “I was in a rush and forgot to grab my scarf,” before Kiyomi had finished explaining Mori had made up his mind and took his scarf off before wrapping it around Kiyomi, making sure it covered her ears.

Kiyomi gave a surprised gasp; the scarf was a little big on her because it was tailor made for Mori. She was about to protest but he stopped her.

“I don’t want you to get sick again. Mitsukuni wouldn’t be happy either.” Mori stated simply, he didn’t want Kiyomi missing out on more classes and Mori wasn’t affected that much by the cold anyway, in all honesty he was more concerned for Kiyomi’s well-being than his own because he himself rarely got sick.

“T-thank you, Mori-kun,” Kiyomi said softly as they both started off, walking to school together.

“Why are you walking to school anyway?” Mori asked

Kiyomi seemed to be thinking about the answer before she finally said, “My driver took the day off for personal reasons and I told father I felt like walking,” she paused before answering, “what about you, Mori-kun?”

Mori shrugged, “I like walking over taking a limo, less flashy and it’s healthier to walk,” he stated, glancing back at Kiyomi.

Mori slowed down, seeing Kiyomi struggle to keep up with his long strides, he apologized softly and matched pace with her, he had to remind himself that her legs were much shorter than his, he glanced down at her, taking in the way her school dress fluttered around her as she walked or how his scarf looked cute on her. He paused in his thoughts, a blush surfaced to his face and he looked away, glad that they had made it to school.

Mori recovered from his embarrassment and looked back at Kiyomi, he saw her attempt to take his scarf off and much to his surprise he stopped her, taking her hands and lowering them, for a second he was flustered at his own actions but he quickly said, “keep it on until you get to class, I don’t need it until after school so you can borrow it until then,” he didn’t wait for a reply as he turned and quickly walking away before she could refuse.


	7. Breathless

“And thus concludes another spectacular afternoon, don’t you agree Haruhi?” Tamaki asked as his eyes glistened, he strode over to the tomboyish girl and took one of her hands into both of his.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Haruhi replied, less enthusiastically, yanking her hand away from the blonde before stomping away.

Mori heard a soft giggle and turned, his eyes landed onto Kiyomi’s form as she sat across the small table from him. Honey sat next to them both, he was too engrossed in placing another small piece of strawberry cake into his mouth to say anything.

Mori turned back to assess everyone else in the room, besides Kiyomi there was another girl, her name was Shiori, she was Kyoya’s friend. It was odd, thinking that Kyoya had a female friend, or a friend other than the pushy Host President period.

Shiori, however, complimented Kyoya nicely though. She was stern, like him, but she was also kind as well and much more understanding.

“With break so close around the corner we’ve finished the last details of the trip,” Kyoya spoke up, gaining everyone’s attention immediately, “everyone’s already agreed that we’ll be flying to a tropical resort, I just need the final approvals about rooming,” Kyoya finished explaining.

Honey’s head tilted up and he opened his mouth to say something, however everyone knew what he was going to say, after all, he had been throwing a tantrum about it since he first learnt that the they were going on a trip and Kiyomi would be joining the group.

“I want Kiyomi to stay in me and Takashi’s room.” He stated stubbornly and everyone in the room groaned.

“Kiyomi will be sharing a room with Shiori.” Kyoya declared, “Besides, it’s inappropriate for a young lady, such as Kiyomi, to sleep in the same room as two boys.” He finished explaining before closing his notebook and giving Honey a sharp stare.

Honey glowered back, glancing at Mori for support but there was no way Mori was going to support Honey on this. Mori’s eyes ventured over to Kiyomi and assessed her, noting her flushed cheeks and her furrowed eyebrows.

Honey turned quickly to Kiyomi and he rushed to her side, with the best puppy dog eyes he could master he asked Kiyomi if she’d stay with Mori and himself during the course of the trip. The room feel silent in anticipation and Mori felt himself grip the edge of his seat.

“If you promise to behave, I’ll think about it.” Kiyomi replied gently, planting a kiss on Honey’s forehead. Mori was startled by the smaller girl’s response, Honey’s puppy dog eyes usually worked on everyone but Kiyomi hadn’t been fazed, he had seen her kind glowing eyes become firm as she had spoken.

Sweet Kiyomi, kind Kiyomi, thoughtful Kiyomi, caring Kiyomi, cute Kiyomi and now firm Kiyomi.

Mori released an inaudible breath of air; he hadn’t noticed he’s been holding it until then. Mori had to peel his eyes away from Kiyomi, he distracted himself with looking out the window but he kept his ears on the conversation.

“Kiyomi-chan, I have to go shopping for a swimsuit, will you come with me sometime?” Shiori asked Kiyomi.

“Sure, I’d love too!” Kiyomi replied. Mori could sense the smile from her the way she spoke; he felt his heart skip a beat and his face heat up. It had been months since he’d first laid eyes on the cute girl, over the course of that time he had gotten quieter and quieter around her. Now he couldn’t even bring himself to talk in front of her any more.

The day Mori had admitted he had developed feelings for the beautiful girl was the day he had halted talking in front of her, not because he hoped the feelings would go away but because every time he was around her he was left breathless. She just, took his breath away.


	8. Guilt

The Host Club group stepped through the doors of the large building, looking around with smiles, grins and in Haruhi’s case, awe, on their faces. Kyoya strode up to the reception desk and begun talking to the desk clerk while a bagman came and collected their luggage.

Moments later they were being ushered up the elevator by Kyoya who was instructing them about how the week was going to work, including a hiking trip, visits to the beach and travelling to the village close by for the lantern festival that was held yearly.

“We’re going to a lantern festival?” Honey squealed, tugging at Mori’s shirt and staring up at the tall boy, “did you hear that Takashi? A lantern festival.”

Mori nodded his head at the small boy as they herded out of the elevator and down the hall.

“Tamaki and I will be in the first room,” Kyoya begun, “Shiori, Kiyomi and Haruhi you three will be in the room beside us,”

“E-eh?” Kiyomi squeaked, her head turning to Haruhi and Shiori’s following to look at Haruhi. Both girls were taken aback for a moment.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, I should have said something earlier but I’m a girl as well,” Haruhi informed, bowing slightly to the girls.

Kiyomi was the first to break the silence, a giggle racked her body and she waved a dismissive hand, “That’s okay Haruhi-san,”

“Or should we say Haruhi-chan,” Shiori finished, a kind smile on her lips.

“Haruhi is just fine,” Haruhi replied with a soft curtness.

Kyoya cleared his throat, making it clear he wanted to continue so the girls quietened down, allowing him to speak up.

“Mori and Honey will be beside the girls, Hikaru and Kaoru will be in the room at the very end, that way if you both try to sneak out Mori will hear you,” Kyoya warned the twins and they both pouted dejectedly.

Once Kyoya had finished talking everyone split up to go into their respective rooms to unpack and settle in.

Mori opened the door and set Honey’s gear down before going and collecting his own and putting the suitcase on an arm chair. He inspected the not so modest room that’d they’d be staying in for the next week, noting the king single beds. Honey hadn’t come in yet so Mori wouldn’t claim a bed until Honey had picked which be he was going to have.

He heard Honey’s giggles from next door and sighed, shaking his head. Mori contemplated going and collecting Honey, so that the girls could have some privacy to settle in, but decided he’d take advantage of Honey being next door and quickly unpacked Honey’s bag, putting his gear away neatly while finding a large stash of hidden treats.

Mori grunted in annoyance, he thought he’d searched the boy’s bags completely but Honey must have snuck it in after Mori had packed his gear. The tall male took the treats and stored them out of reach, hidden away from Honey’s sight, as he finished and shifted to his own bag there was a knock on his door before it opened to reveal Kiyomi holding Honey’s hand.

She bought him in and gave Mori a shy smile, Mori’s heart skipped a beat as she spoke to Honey, “We need to finish unpacking but you can come back after,” Kiyomi turned to look at Mori and Mori could feel his face heat up, she opened her mouth to talk Mori but he was already brushing past her and into the bathroom, closing it quickly and locking it.

He leant against the door, hearing Honey and Kiyomi exchange more words before he heard the door close and footsteps walk back into the room next door. Mori let out a sigh and unlocking the door and came back out.

“Takashi! You big meanie! You really hurt Kiyomi-chan’s feelings.” Honey wailed, glaring angrily at the tall boy.

Mori could feel a lump rising in his throat and he slumped into an empty arm chair, guilt eating away at him. He knew his actions where uncalled for, he’d have to go apologize but that means he’d have to explain why he was acting like this, avoiding her at all costs. He had no choice now but to be honest.


	9. Dumbfounded

Dinner time had arrived and Mori noted that the food looked amazing, he wasn’t surprised though after all Kiyomi had helped to prepare dinner along with Haruhi and Shiori. Tamaki had insisted that they should have a home-cooked meal on their first night of the trip and it seemed the girls had gone all out.

“This food looks amazing!” Honey squealed taking a seat as everyone followed suit, after a quick prayer everyone dug in, murmuring their praises and thanking the girls for an amazing meal. Before Mori realized everyone had finished eating and Kiyomi was insisting that she would do the dishes.

Mori took the opportunity and rose quickly, “I’ll help her,” and before anyone could object he took the dirty dishes closest to him and strided to the kitchen where Kiyomi had already disappeared too. He took a glance at Honey on his way out to see Honey give him a look of approval before his face vanished behind the closing kitchen door.

“You don’t need to help, Mori-kun, I can manage on my own,” Kiyomi stated softly, filling the sink with hot water.

Mori placed the dishes on one side of the sink and took a look at her face, his breath caught in his throat and for a moment all he could do is open and close his mouth for a few seconds, finally closing it and covering his hand with his mouth, annoyed with himself.

“Is everything okay Mori-kun?” Kiyomi has turned, face full of concern as she peered up at the tall boy.

“I… I want to apologize… the way I acted earlier, it was rude, I’m really sorry, Kiyomi.” Mori babbled before looking away with a flushed face.

When Kiyomi didn’t reply he turned back quickly, his eyebrows furrowed with worry as he stared at the petite girl before him. Only when their eyes met did she finally respond.

“It’s f-fine, really.” She stammered as her face turned bright red.

Mori cursed himself, he felt tense and even though Kiyomi had declared that she was fine he still felt bad for upsetting her.

“M-mori-kun,” Kiyomi’s soft voice snapped him from his thoughts and he waited for her to continue talking, “H-honey told me, that you’ve been acting strange because,” she paused to dry her hands on a tea towel and Mori could feel his heart hammer in his chest, he felt the urge to flee but stayed perfectly still, “b-because you like me,”

Mori didn’t have time to comprehend what Kiyomi had just said, he didn’t even have time to react before she was in front of him, a look of determination in her gentle brown eyes. She reached out and took his shoulder into her small hand and with strength he didn’t know she was capable of having she tugged him down.

Their lips met in a soft kiss, sparking a strange warmth within him and Mori’s eyes widened in utter shock, he didn’t move a muscle, unable to digest what was going on.

He could smell her sweet perfume, he felt her soft rosy lips, he wanted to respond but he couldn’t, he stared at her closed eyes, too scared to move, afraid that if he responded or touched her she’d shatter like a fine porcelain doll but just like that the kiss was over and she was pulling away.

Kiyomi’s eyes opened and he watched them widen as she pulled away with a sudden jerk of her head, “I’m s-sorry,” she whimpered, taking a step back from Mori as he saw the tears well up in her eyes, “I-I’m so sorry,” she broke into a sob, realizing what she had done. She took another step away from Mori before turning and running out of the kitchen.

Mori stood still, dumbfounded at the turn of events.


	10. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Mori twisted and turned in his sleep.

In his dreams he could see Kiyomi, she was curled up in a ball, crying. Mori tried to reach out to comfort her but he only went through her. He tried again to grasp her petite body as her shoulders shook violently with the mute sobbing, he couldn’t reach her. He called her name, she couldn’t hear him.

And then Mori awoke, breathing heavily as he gripped the sheets beneath him. His bare chest glistened with sweat and he glanced over to Honey, who was sleeping soundly.

Mori let out a sigh of relief before getting up to get a glass of water, he quietly got the glass of water and guzzled it down, surprised at how thirsty he had been. He was about to get back into bed and try to sleep again when he noticed a faint light coming from under the door that lead to the hall.

He went to investigate, wondering if it was Kaoru and Hikaru being up to no good but when he opened the door he was shocked to find Kiyomi curled up in a ball between his and Honey’s room and her, Shiori and Haruhi’s room.

For a moment Mori was horrified and wondered if he was still having the nightmare from earlier, had the guilt he was harbouring become so bad that he was hallucinating?

After Mori had stopped panicking and realized he wasn’t dreaming, but in fact was wide awake, he crouched down to Kiyomi’s level.

“She’s asleep,” he whispered, watching her chest rise and fall gently.

Why was Kiyomi sleeping here? She must have locked herself out of the room, Mori concluded. He hesitated for a second but there was no way he was leaving her outside the door so he scoped her up carefully and after turning the hall light back off he bought Kiyomi into his room and placed her on his bed.

Pulling the covers over her he moved away and laid down on the small couch. After Kiyomi had kissed him she had locked herself away and he hadn’t had the chance to confess, or say anything to her, period.

Mori didn’t remember falling asleep after that but when he woke up again he heard Honey talking excitedly. Standing up slowly Mori rubbing his sore neck and turned back to see Kiyomi making the bed, already dressed for the day and ready to go.

He watched Kiyomi’s face go bright red and he realized he was only wearing pyjama bottoms, he apologized and excused himself, going to the bathroom after grabbing some fresh clothes he had a shower and dressed himself, brushing his teeth and making sure he looked decent.

He contemplated how he was going to make things right with Kiyomi; how he was going to tell her that he felt the same. A sudden thought struck him, Kiyomi had kissed him first, her actions had shown him that she had feelings for him, why use words when everyone, including Mori himself knew that he wasn’t good with talking.

Actions speak louder than words, right?

Mori left the bathroom and paused, seeing Kiyomi straighten up from making Honey’s bed. He didn’t stop to rethink his decision and he closed the gap, stooping down and wrapping an arm loosely around Kiyomi’s waist and covering his lips over hers.

He could feel her initial shock but it didn’t take long for him to feel her kiss him back ever so slightly.

“Finally!” Honey squealed breaking the silence just before Mori had a chance to deepen the kiss. Kiyomi pulled back considerably once she remembered they had an audience, “see Kiyomi-chan, I told you Takashi liked you back!” The lolita boy giggled with glee.

“M-mori-kun,” Kiyomi murmured, gaining the tall boys attention, his arm still around her waist.

“Call me Takashi,” Mori stated with a whisper.


	11. Beach Trip

The sun shone brightly as the whole group made their way down to the beach, it was only a short trip and soon the group were splitting up to do their own activities. The girls had stayed behind to get ready while the boys had gone on ahead.

“I hope the girls get here soon, and then Kiyomi-chan can play with us, right Takashi?” Honey questioned, climbing up Takashi until he was on his shoulders.

“Kiyomi might just want some time with the girls.” Mori replied.

“But Takashi, wouldn’t you want to see Kiyomi up close wearing a swim suit?” Honey purred, nuzzling his face into the taller boy’s neck.

Mori paused in thought, his mind wondered off to picture Kiyomi in a swim suit and a dark blush overtook his face, but he didn’t respond to the lolita boys gibe.

Mori stood still, refusing to move and once Honey realized he had embarrassed his cousin he let out a giggle and jumped off his shoulders to run around in excitement. Mori didn’t know how long he was standing there for but he was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts.

“Takashi?”

From the corner of his eyes he could see Kiyomi’s long hair hanging down as she leant forward slightly to get his attention. He turned to take her in; she wore an open back and open sides, one piece swimsuit patterned in flowers. Mori caught himself staring and looked away.

“Are you okay, Takashi?” Kiyomi asked quietly, concern written on her face.

Mori nodded his head and turned back to her with a small smile, seeing Kiyomi return it made his heart skip a beat.

“Kiyomi-chan! Will you swim with me?” Honey ran over and wrapped his arms around one of Kiyomi’s and she bit her lip.

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea, I’m sorry Honey,” Kiyomi stated.

“Why isn’t it a good idea?” He replied back curiously.

“I, can’t swim,” she hesitated and both Mori and Honey stared at her in disbelief, the boys managed to snap out of their scepticism when they noticed how embarrassed Kiyomi was getting.

“Aww it’s okay Kiyomi-chan, Takashi will make sure you’re okay, right Takashi?” Honey turned back to his cousin and received a nod of confirmation.

“Of course,” Mori spoke, the boys watched Kiyomi contemplate whether she would go swimming or not.

“O-okay,” Kiyomi said timidly as she stepped forward towards the water. Mori followed closely beside her as Honey pounced on Mori as they entered the water. Kiyomi let out a squeal as the waves lapped at her feet.

“The waters cold,” Kiyomi blushed with embarrassment making Honey giggled.

“You’ll get use to the cold water but you just need to adjust first!” Honey stated with a grin as Mori wadded into the water with ease, stopping when he got chest high in the water and he turned back to watch Kiyomi. Honey jumped off of Mori and splashed into the cold water with his floaty on. A wave of water hit Kiyomi and she yelped, shivering but continued to venture further into the water, closer and closer to Mori.

Mori watched Kiyomi get within an arms lengths away and noticed she was shivering. “Don’t push yourself Kiyomi.” Mori muttered, reaching out to her and bringing her in to his body. After a moment Kiyomi stopped shivering and glanced up to Mori, giving him a thankful smile as she clung to him.

“You won’t let go off me right?” Kiyomi asked, realizing that while the water was chest high for Mori, she couldn’t touch the ground.

“Never,” Mori declared, holding Kiyomi closer as Honey smirked a few feet away.


	12. The Lantern Festival

Mori sat brooding over the past week’s events; tonight the whole group would be going to the lantern festival just up the road from the hotel. However Mori had yet to ask Kiyomi if she’d go with him. He had tried, several times to ask her but whenever he got some alone time with her she’d be snatched away from him.

He sighed heavily, his mood darkening at the prospect of not being able to take her, just the two of them splitting off from the group to do their own thing.

“So will you start calling me Mitsukuni from now on Kiyomi-chan?” Mori heard Honey ask as both himself and Kiyomi appeared, walking into the lounge.

“If that’s what you want, then of course I can, Mitsukuni.” Kiyomi gave the lolita boy a warm smile before glancing up and catching Mori’s eye, she blushed, sending him a small smile as well.

Mori stood up promptly, going over to them both. He decided now would be the best chance to quickly ask her before she was pulled away again, so he spoke up.

“Kiyomi, I was wondering if you’d like to-“ before he could finish Shiori waltzed in and took Kiyomi by the arm.

“We have to get ready for the lantern festival Kiyomi!” the other girl squealed, dragging Kiyomi away as she gave Mori an apologetic look.

“Go to the festival with me…” Mori finished, his dark mood coming back as he stumbled off to a corner and crouched down, depressed at his situation. He was having the worst luck.

“Awww don’t worry Takashi! I’ll make sure you and Kiyomi get some alone time at the festival.” Honey reassured his tall friend, running over and hugging Mori from behind.

“Thank you Mitsukuni, we should go get ready ourselves,” the tall boy replied with a sigh, feeling better he stood up as Honey repositioned himself to sit on Mori’s broad shoulders. They made their way out of the lounge and back to their shared room to get ready.

Once they were dressed and ready to go they made their way out of their room and back to the lounge area, the rest of the host club boys where there, waiting for the girls to come out so they could make their way to the festival.

When the girl’s finally made it out Mori’s face flushes darkly, staring at Kiyomi, she has her long hair pinned up and is wearing a beautiful kimono. He begins to feel nervous but doesn’t say anything as they walk out and get into a car.

Everyone talked animatedly as the short ride ended and they all climbed out.

“Now if we end up splitting up we’ll meet back here at midnight, understood?” Kyoya informed, earning a firm nod from the group.

“Takashi,” Mori blinked, turning his head to his name and looking down to find a pair of bright brown eyes shining up at him.

“K-Kiyomi,” he stated, acknowledging her, “you look beautiful,” he complimented.

“T-thank you,” her cheeks turn slightly red as she continued, “hey, I was wondering, would you want to, maybe spend tonight at the festival, with me?” she questioned and a sense of relief overcame Mori.

“Of course,” he replied without skipping a beat, he took her smaller hand and enclosed it with his own as he turned and looked over at Honey.

“You know, we wouldn’t be a proper family without him,” Kiyomi stated, as a look of understanding passed between her and Mori.

“Mitsukuni, come.” Mori commanded after looking away from Kiyomi to the smaller boy.

A surprised look overcomes Honey and he squealed, running over with Usa-chan in his arms. He climbed Mori’s large frame, setting himself onto his shoulders as they took off to look at stalls.

“Let’s have a fun night,” Kiyomi stated, giggling.


	13. Stall Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori does whatever it takes to get the soft toy Kiyomi wants.

Mori followed Kiyomi and Honey closely, making sure not to lose sight of them. Though he was tall, they themselves were small and if he wasn’t careful they’d both easily become swallowed up within the large crowd. If that were to happen he might not be able to find them, at least not without worry and struggle.

He watched the pair talk animatedly between each other, pointing excitedly at the different stalls and “ohhhing” and “ahhhing” over the decorations that surrounded them. A small smile played on Mori’s lips. For once he could truly say he was happy and relaxed; something that didn’t come often to the young stoic young man.

Suddenly Kiyomi’s hand reached out, though she was still talking to Honey she was seeking Mori, making sure he was still with them. Without hesitating Mori held his hand out for her to find. Only when her hand was securely in his did she break her focus on Honey to turn back to look at Mori. Her face was lit up with pure joy and childish excitement. Mori felt his heart skip a beat and he had to remind himself to breath.

They continued looking around at the various stalls, gradually the crowd had become thinner and Mori couldn’t help but feel a little thankful. Honey was now on Mori’s shoulders, having become tired of walking part way through, and Kiyomi was walking beside Mori, her small hand in his larger one.

By now they were walking through the stall games, only a few odd people bothered with these festival games. Before splitting up Kyoya had informed the group that the game stall owners would rig their games, one way or another, in order to make as much money as possible.

It was then that Mori noticed Kiyomi staring at one of the soft toys on a high shelve in one of the stalls. It was a large plush tiger. Kiyomi realized Mori had caught her staring and she blushed, looking away in embarrassment.

Mori didn’t give it a second thought as he tugged Kiyomi towards that stall. Honey giggled with glee, cheering Mori on as they made it over to the stall, stopping in front of it.

“Welcome, welcome,, if you want the big prizes you’ll have to knock all the blocks off of the shelf,” the owner explained, smirking.

Mori fished out his wallet as Honey hopped down from Mori’s shoulders and Kiyomi protested.

“T-takashi, don’t waste your money on this, it’s not worth it,” she stated.

Mori turned to give her a firm look, “I want too,” was all he had to say to stop her from further protesting.

“That’s the spirit, young man,” the stall owner grinned, baring his rotting teeth as Mori placed some money down.

The stall owner snatched the money up and inspected it before nodding his head in satisfaction before handing Mori a single softball.

Kiyomi grimaced and Mori knew what she was thinking; only one try for that kind of price but Mori wasn’t worried about the cost. He’d get that soft toy for Kiyomi.

Mori lined himself up with the blocks in the middle of the wall and with one swift throw he hit the blocks square on, a perfect bullseye, only none of the blocks tumbled, they hadn’t even swayed.

By now a small crowd had gathered to watch, grumbled could be heard when they witnessed the perfect throw but no falling blocks.

Mori’s jaw clenched in annoyance but he had been prepared for some sort of cheap trick, now that he knew there was one, very big one there was no way he was going to leave without giving the owner a run for his money.

Digging into his pocket Mori took out another note and dropped it on the counter, glaring at the owner who shifted uncomfortably under the heated stare while giving Mori another softball as the crowd begun to murmur.

This time Mori didn’t hold back, summoning all his strength he launched the softball straight at the wall, not bothering to aim. The ball tore through the flimsy wall with easy and the whole wall dropped back, toppling over all the blocks on the shelf and exposing the scenery behind the stall. The only thing still standing was the prize shelves, the counter and the shell shocked owner.

“T-take whatever you want, just don’t hurt me,” the owner cried, backing away.

Mori stepped forward and manoeuvred around the counter before reaching up and taking the tiger soft toy off the shelf and turning to Kiyomi and Honey.

“Mitsukuni, do you want a soft toy?” Mori asked and Honey promptly let out a squeal, running around the counter and snatching up a soft toy he liked.

Kiyomi let out a giggle as Mori went back over to her and silently handed her the tiger. She stood up on her tiptoes while tugging Mori down to her level and planting a tender kiss on his lips before whispering a shy thank you while hugging the soft toy tightly.

A blushing Mori cleared his throat as a seemingly unaware Honey came back over to join the couple.

“We should meet back up with the others now, the fireworks are going to start soon,” Honey exclaimed, pushing his way between the pair and taking their free hands as he led them away from the stall and the scene that had just unfolded.


End file.
